ken yon



(No Model.) J. W. KENYON.

LOW WATER ALARM.

Patented May 26, 1885.

w m m Unrrnn rates Parent: @rrrcn JOHN W. KENYON, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE H. GLARKF, OF JIONTOLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

LOW-WATER ALARM.

SPECIFICATION ionizing par: of Letters Patent No. 318,913, dated lllay 26, 1885.

Application filed March 9.8, 1685. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN XV. KENYoN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at New York, county and State ofNewYork,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Low-\Vater Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

The United States Letters Patent No. 176,318, granted to me on April 18, 1876, for improve- IO merits in low-water-alarm apparatus for steamgenerators, are for an invention embracingthe application of a light vessel adapted to retain water, to be used as a dead-weight to open the valve of a whistle when the water in the genorator or boiler falls to the low level, said water-retaining vessel being located above the boiler in a chamber which is provided with a dip-pipe, whose lower end is inline with the water-level which it is desired to indicate by sounding an alarm, said chamber being full of water, in which the vessel is submerged,when the water in the boiler is above thelower end of the dippipe. A testing-pipe, provided with a stopcock, is secured between the top of the boiler and the upper part of the chamber, so as to afford a means for putting the chamber in equilibrium with the steam-space of the boiler, thus causing the water contained in the chamber to fall back into the boiler through the dip-pipe, and leaving the retaining-vessel attached to the valve full of water, when it is required to ascertain the condition of the apparatus, which it is desirable to do once in a while, to insure that the same is in proper ,5 working order.

Now,this invention has for its object to simplify the construction and lessen the cost of manufacture of this class of low-water alarms, and to avoid the trouble and expense of fitting the testing-pipe, and drilling and tapping the extra hole in the boiler for itslower end. This I accomplish by casting or forming a channel or passageway in the wall of the chamber, one end of which opensin the upper part of the interior of the chamber, and the other end opens di rect-ly into the steam-space of the boiler, by being located at the bottom of the stem or neck of the chamber, by which it is secured to the boiler. A plug or stop-cock is fitted into the wall of the chamber, so that this test-passage may be opened or closed at pleasure; but to describe my invention more particularly, I will now refer to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical central section of my 5g improvements in low-water alarms, showing I the same applied to a boiler, and Fig. 2 is an underneath view ofthe same detached from the boiler.

The general arrangement of the chamber a, cover 1 water-retaining vessel 0, dippipe rod Z, with valve formed thereon to close the passage m to the whistle, and whistle k," as shown in the before-mentioned Letters Patent No. 176,318, is adhered to in this invention; 6 5 but the special construction of a whistle described and claimed in another application, filed as Case B, is here shown, in which the supporting-spring h is placed above the whistle instead of beneath the vessel 0.

To provide a means of communication between the steam-space of the boiler and the chamber a, when the water in the boiler is above the end of the dip-pipef, a channel or passage, a, is formed in the wall of 13118011211111 7 5 her in any suitable manner, but preferablyby coring it out when the vessel is cast. This passage a has an outlet, in the interior of the chamber above the vessel 0, which outlet is closed by means of the screwplugj projecting through the cap-piece and bearingj,fitted in the side of the chamber; and the lower end, a of the passage opens into the steamspace of the boiler at the bottom of the stem or neck a", which is screw-threaded on its outer side, and fits into a hole tapped in the top of the boiler. By this construction it will be seen that the apparatus is much simplified, costs less to manufacture, is less liable to get out of order by reason of the reduction in the number 0 of connections and joints, and is more easily applied to boilers, requiring one hole only to be made through the top of the same,

The function of the passage-way a and screwplugj will be readily understoo'ihfor when the 5 screw-plug is closed and the level of the water in the boiler is above the bottom of the dippipe f, the chamber a and vessel 0 are full of water. The spring hwith the pressure of the steam then holds the valve on the rod firmly to its seat. N ow, upon opening the screw-plug j thesteam rushes up the passage-way a into the chamber a, and displaces the water therein, and the water retained in the vessel 0 is sufficiently heavy to overcome the tension of the spring h and the steam-pressure against the valve, thus allowing the steam to escape through the whistle k, which escape, under these conditions, indicates that the apparatus is in proper working order. Vhen the screwplug j is closed, the pressure of the steam in the boiler forces the water up the dip-pipe f into the chamber a,which water, surrounding the vessel 0, counteracts the weight of the water therein, and so allows the valve on the rod Z to be closed by theresilience of the spring h and the steam-pressure.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a low-water alarm, a water-chamber secured on the top of the boiler,provided with a dip-pipe extending down to the water, and a channel or passage-way formed in its side or wall, and connecting the steam-space of the boiler with the upper part of the water-chamber, in combination with a stop-cock or screwplug fitted in said chamber, so as to close said passage-way, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In aloW-water alarm, in combination,the water-chamber a, having the channel or passage-way a, formed in its side or wall, the screw-plug j j, the dip-pipe f, the vessel 0, rod

Z, and steam-whistle is, substantially as set forth. 3 5 

